Page 132 of The Merger
“You know Carys, right?” I ask.
“Yes.” She hiccups a breath. “A darling girl. She’s an absolute darling.”
“She’ll be your darling daughter-in-law soon.”
Ping!My text alert chirps.
Emotion clouds her voice again. “I’d say this is too much for one day, but I’ve waited on this forever.”
Me, too, Mom. Me, too.
“I’m coming to town on Friday,” she says. “Would it be okay to come by and see you? See sweet Carys? Offer my congratulations in person?”
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
I roll my eyes.Fucking Tate.
“I think she’d really like that. And I would, too.”
Ping!
Silence slips between us, unlike anything I’ve experienced with my mother. There’s pride in her voice. Joy. She’s not poised to tell me she’s worried about me, or that I need to do this or that. She’s happy with me. For me. And that feels pretty damn great.
“I’ll see you soon,” she says. “I love you so much.”
Ping!
“Love you, Mother.”
“Thank you for calling me.”
Ping!
“Of course. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Gannon.”
I blow out a breath and swipe to my texts. “Let’s see what Tate’s done now.”
I glance at the screen and shake my head. That’s all I can do. Shake my damn head.
A picture of the ultrasound is in the family chat with no context.
Ripley: What the fuck?
Bianca: Woah.
Ripley: Tate? You got something to tell us, buddy?
Bianca: It would appear so.
Jason: Is that an ultrasound photo?
Bianca: Yes.
